.tar files
.tar file
Tape Archive
A Unix bundle of files with no compression at all — usually paired with gzip.
What opens a .tar file
- Windows
- File Explorer (built in, Windows 11), 7-Zip, WinRAR
- macOS
- Archive Utility (built in), Keka, tar (Terminal)
- Linux
- Archive Manager / File Roller (built in), Ark, tar
What a .tar file is
TAR dates from 1979 and does exactly one thing: glue many files into one, preserving Unix permissions and symlinks. It does not compress, which is why you almost always meet it as .tar.gz or .tar.xz, where a separate compressor squeezed the finished bundle. Windows 11 extracts tar archives in File Explorer, and every Mac and Linux system has the tar command built in.
Converting it
A .tar file is commonly converted to .zip, .7z, .gz or .tgz. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .tar
- Full name
- Tape Archive
- Category
- Archives
- MIME type
- application/x-tar
- Created by
- Unix / POSIX
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .tar file?
- On Windows use File Explorer (built in, Windows 11); on macOS use Archive Utility (built in); on Linux use Archive Manager / File Roller (built in). A Unix bundle of files with no compression at all — usually paired with gzip.
- What is a .tar file?
- Tape Archive. TAR dates from 1979 and does exactly one thing: glue many files into one, preserving Unix permissions and symlinks. It does not compress, which is why you almost always meet it as .tar.gz or .tar.xz, where a separate compressor squeezed the finished bundle.
- Can I convert a .tar file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .zip, .7z, .gz or .tgz, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .zip — ZIP Archive The universal compressed folder — every operating system opens one with no extra
- .rar — RAR Archive A proprietary archive format with better compression than ZIP and strong recover
- .7z — 7-Zip Archive The open, high-compression archive format from 7-Zip, with proper AES-256 encryp
- .gz — Gzip Compressed File A single compressed file — it holds no folder structure of its own.
- .tgz — Gzipped Tar Archive Shorthand for .tar.gz — a tar bundle compressed with gzip.
- .xz — XZ Compressed File LZMA2 compression — the tightest of the common Unix single-file compressors.
- .bz2 — Bzip2 Compressed File A compressed single file, slower than gzip but usually smaller.
- .sfx — Self-Extracting Archive Module The stub program archivers glue onto an archive to make it extract itself.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place